Formula 1 track tests
Behind the wheel of F1’s greatest cars — from pre-war icons to modern hybrids.
What does it take to drive a Formula 1 car? What does it feel like and yes, what happens when you get it wrong? Over the decades Motor Sport has been granted some extraordinary opportunities to answer these questions and more. We have reviewed, rated and even reunited some of the greatest grand prix cars ever built.
From pre-War forerunners right up to modern space-age hybrid racers, we have enjoyed unparalleled access to icons of the sport. Whilst these sorts of features are rare (and getting gradually rarer still as modern machinery becomes ever more complicated requiring a whole team of engineers armed with laptops to operate them) we have raided our archives and compiled the best, most compelling stories that span all eras of grand prix racing.
Our team of journalists have been incredibly fortunate to get behind the wheel themselves on multiple occasions, and it’s always enlightening to hear the tales of mere mortals tackling such machines first hand. But sometimes the stories run even deeper when Motor Sport’s unrivalled connections come into play, allowing us to introduce, or even reunite, key players with their long-lost partners in crime. Stirling Moss and his Gold Cup-winning Ferguson P99, anybody? How about Adrian Newey driving his own Leyton House for the first time? Modern-day F1 drivers stepping back in time to try their own hero’s car? These are the stories no writer can tell alone, and that’s part of what makes this issue so bewitching. So please enjoy this compilation of the great grand prix track tests, and we’ll work to keep them coming.
Read more track tests, race reports and interviews spanning the past century in Motor Sport’s vast archive.
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